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Access Key

Note:This is a student project from a course
affiliated with the Ethnography of the University
Initiative. EUI supports faculty development of courses in which students conduct
original research on their university, and encourages students to think about colleges
and universities in relation to their communities and within larger national and global
contexts.

Description

My research topic deals with whether or not Taiwanese Americans still exist in the Chicago society, and why they are unwilling to identify themselves when the legacy of Taiwan runs in their blood. I looked for Taiwanese American students on campus through groups such as TSA (Taiwanese Student Association) and TIA (Taiwanese Intercultural Association). As I observed some Taiwanese Americans at Taiwanese Student Association meetings, I discovered that most of them were outgoing, funny, and generous. Though there were still some conservativeness inched in their apparel (skirts are still a no-no) and behavior, they can still accept the American norm of the society. Currently, there are still Taiwanese Americans who are confused with their own identities and torn between two sides of the culture.

Issue Date:

2008

Series/Report:

AAS 199, Asian American Chicago, Prof. Junaid Rana: The city of Chicago is home to many Asian Americans defined broadly from those that hail from East Asia to South Asia to West Asia. In this course, students examine the multiplicity of the Asian American experience through specific communities and their history in Chicago. By centering on neighborhoods and communities we look at the populations that constitute places like Chinatown, Koreatown, and Devon Street. Expanding our definitions of the city based on the North side, South side, West Side, etc., and the city and the suburbs, students explore the relationship of Asian Americans across definitions of an imagined Chicago and Chicagoland. The course material cover a wide array of topics to examine the changing contours of Asian American communities such as housing, migration, segregation, and racialization. Further this course examines the relationship of Asian Americans in relationship to the historically racialized groups in Chicago. Each student in this class is part of an important research project to document the role of the U of I in student life and the communities they come from. The course syllabus is available at: www.eui.uiuc.edu/docs/syllabi/AAS199F07.doc